On most days, even at the height of the summer season, a walk along Inch beach in west Kerry is likely to be a journey into solitude. Travel a sufficient distance and you may well find yourself alone with the lapping sea and changing light in this unspoilt part of the Kingdom.

Those familiar with the film Ryan's Daughter, made in Kerry by David Lean more than three decades ago, may recall Robert Mitchum and Sarah Miles walking the beach in a long camera shot. The area was also the location for a film version of The Playboy Of The Western World, starring Siobhβn McKenna, in the early 1960s.

Inch is on the southern side of the Dingle peninsula, near the village of Anascaul. There is a car park at the entrance to the beach, and a shop with a plentiful supply of books of local interest.

The length of the walk is optional, the only recommendation being to stick near the sand dunes rather than the muddy sand when the tide is out. Watch out, too, for the tide variations if you are planning a long trek or, indeed, if you opt for a swim.

Continue in a straight line, savouring the splendid sight of the valley that forms the bay, dating back to the end of the last ice age, when there was a rise in sea levels. On a clear day, you will see the outline of the Iveragh peninsula in the distance.

Watch out for the wildlife, including long stems of oarweed and stranded jellyfish along the waterline. The farther you travel, the more you will observe bird life, such as groups of oyster-catchers trotting about the tide mark. You can also see diving gannets, on a visit from Skellig Rocks across the bay.

Stop occasionally to savour the beauty of your surroundings, the skyline that changes with the weather, the expanse of ocean and the fact that, if you have walked far enough, you might well have the splendour of it to yourself.

You may choose to retrace your steps back to the car park, reliving the experience, or venture as far as Inch Point, monarch of all you survey on the hills of sand.